Legal analysis: According to the provisions of the Patent Law, the patent protection period for invention patents is 20 years, while the patent protection periods for utility model patents and design patents are both 10 years. After the patent protection period has expired, the patent is no longer protected, and there is no infringement of patent rights.
Legal basis: Article 42 of the "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" states that the term of invention patent rights is twenty years, the term of utility model patent rights is ten years, and the term of design patent rights is The period is fifteen years, calculated from the date of application.
If the invention patent right is granted after four years from the date of application for the invention patent and three years from the date of request for substantive examination, the patent administration department of the State Council shall, at the request of the patentee, make a decision on the invention patent in Unreasonable delays in the grant process will be compensated for the duration of the patent right, except for unreasonable delays caused by the applicant.
In order to compensate for the time taken up by the review and approval of new drugs, for invention patents related to new drugs that have been approved for marketing in China, the patent administration department of the State Council will provide patent period compensation at the request of the patentee. The compensation period shall not exceed five years, and the total effective patent period after the new drug is approved for marketing shall not exceed fourteen years.